The fundraiser to bring draft horses and other heavy horse events back to the Ionia Free Fair "far exceeded" the expectations for the event's planners, said Dennis Arnold, chairman of the Ionia Free Fair board of directors, on Wednesday.

The livestock benefit party held Jan. 12 at the Steele Street Hall raised "in the neighborhood of $17,000," Arnold said. He and the board had hoped to raise $3,000 to $4,000 from the party.

An estimated 300 people attended the fundraiser, which included a hot dog dinner, live and silent auctions, a 50/50 raffle and a drawing.

"We had to start serving sooner than we planned because it was getting backed up," Arnold said. "It was really great to see the interest in ag from the community."

Arnold said he would like to see excess money used to enhance participation "at the back of the fair," where the 4-H and agriculture events are located. He plans to solicit recommendations from fair superintendents when they meet in early February. He also met with the 4-H director, Rebecca McCafferty, to get her input on where extra money would be most helpful in strengthen 4-H programming at the fair.

"People might live in Ionia and not realize the process of getting milk," McCafferty said. "We'd like to do demonstrations throughout the week of fair to draw attention to the rich agriculture of Ionia."

McCafferty added that she hopes to use volunteers from across the county, including leaders and local farmers, to conduct educational or interactive demonstrations about the agriculture industry during the fair, "really showcasing the agriculture side of the fair and the realm of agricultural opportunities there are in Ionia County."

4-H participation has been declining, she said, because many people don't know how valuable the 4-H program is, both in promoting agriculture but also in building youth leaders.

"We need to educate the community about 4-H, and the whole diversity that is open to every youth," she said. "We hope to draw attention to agriculture as a whole, but also as a viable youth develop organization kids can invest in, and experience things and grow."

McCafferty said the relationship with Arnold is going to be good for both 4-H and the fair.

"He has experience in livestock and agriculture, and I have a background in youth development and education," she said. "We'll work really well together to bring new ideas to the fair this year."